Æ43 - Caracalla ΕΠΙ ϹΤΡ ΙΟΥΛ ΑΝΘΙΜΟΥ ΠΕΡΓΑΜΗΝΩΝ, ΠΡΩΤΩΝ ΤΡΙϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ, ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ (on crown)

Pergamum's claim to three neocorate titles — granted for maintaining imperial cult temples — was fiercely contested among the great cities of Asia Minor, and coins like this one functioned as civic propaganda as much as currency, broadcasting that status to anyone who handled them. The strategos Iulius Anthimus, whose name appears in the issue authority, was a local magistrate responsible for organizing the Olympian games referenced on the crown motif, tying the emission directly to a specific festival cycle rather than routine civic coinage.

At 43 mm, these large bronzes rarely circulated in any conventional sense — their heft and prestige made them more likely candidates for distribution at games or ceremonial contexts.